Knightly Walks
by f1anne1
Summary: Clay Moorington walks the Fortrex every night instead of sleeping, but one night he doesn't, and Lance notices. From that night on, the two will learn more about one another than they'd ever expected, and learn about themselves, too.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't uncommon for Clay to walk the Fortrex at night, patroling the halls on high alert with all the stubborn dedication he was known for. The sound of his echoing footsteps was something the other knights had long gotten used to during their time as a team, even if at first it had lead to more than a couple occassions where someone got spooked. Now, if the others got up to visit the kitchen or the bathroom at some point in the night and happened to pass him, they'd say hi, and move on. His routine was a comforting constant- Clay walking through the night was as common as Jestro and Monstrox causing a scene.

So when Lance went to get a glass of water one night, and he didn't hear any sign of Clay's pacing, not even he could keep from feeling a bit worried. Water temporarily forgotten in the name of being a good teammate, the emptiness of the halls was too pressing to not investigate a little. What if something had happened? There'd be no point in going back to sleep if the alarm was going to sound in a few moments anyways, right?

The Fortrex was eerily quiet aside from the hum of electronics and the distant sound of Axl's muffled snoring. It was impossible not to feel on-edge, a feeling that left Lance shifting in his silk pajamas and glancing about every which way, looking for any unexpected movement in the shadows cast by the cool, low light.

The sound of footsteps behind him- those were not the heavy, deliberate and steady steps of Clay- made Lance freeze, going stock-still in the dark. Weaponless, still wearing his face mask, and entirely alone, Lance would later blame anything other than his own nerves for the near-squeal he made when something bumped his hand.

The quiet snort that followed was immediately familiar and soothing, though.

"Hamletta!" All the held breath left Lance with a heavy sigh, and he took a moment to get it back together before he knelt and ran his hand over the top of the pig's head. "You scared me, sweetheart!" Hamletta snorted again, nuzzling his hand with her snout. "Hey, have you seen Clay? Mr. Uptight-Knight seems to be slacking off his whole 'patrol' business, it's got me worried." There was a pause. "Everyone else worried."

Hamletta didn't respond, but Lance appreciated her non-attempt.

"No sign of him, huh?" The knight stood again, squinting his eyes and peering down the dark hall in front of him. Well, that meant his little sidequest wasn't over with yet, and his water would have to wait a little longer. He set his jaw, newly determined and far less jittery with the company at his side. "Come on Hamletta, let's see if we can find him."

Lance was a lot of things, but dramatic was one of the first words to come to mind when describing him. He knew sincerely that it hadn't been more than, say, thirty minutes at most, but the fact that he'd been up that long at all when all he'd intended to do when he'd gotten up was fetch a quick drink and go back to bed had him moody already.

"How have we not found him yet?" He complained quietly to Halmetta, who didn't acknowledge it. He'd been like this for the last leg of the search, and while she was just a pig, even she knew he was just being whiney. "I feel like we've been walking for hours." The drowsiness weighed heavy on his eyes, on his steps, and on his patience. "Literally, where could he be?"

Hamletta, who'd initially taken the lead, came to a sudden slow in front of a door- the door to the Fortrex's small library. She snuffled at it a moment, before sitting down solidly. Lance, tired and a bit out of sorts, walked past a few paces before realizing she'd stopped, and quickly turned back to join her by the door.

"What? Something in there?" Lance asked, and Hamletta bumped his hand as if to confirm. Lance glanced between her and the door, before shrugging and pressing the "open" button on the door's keypad.

The library was a bit less dimly-lit than the hall outside, a sublte glow coming from just beyond a book shelf. Quietly, the duo rounded the corner, only to find Clay, fast asleep with a book open in front of him, cheek resting against his crossed arms on the table, booklight still on.

"Oh. There he is." Lance whispered, patting his pig on the top of her head. "Good find, sweetheart."

Lance took quiet, carefully-placed steps, cautious not to trip on any books, until he was standing next to his leader. This close, and in this lighting- well, maybe it was the sleep deprivation getting to him, but he could've sworn this was the most relaxed he'd ever seen Clay. No one had ever caught him sleeping- never, not even back at the academy. It was... surreal, but serene. The heavy stress lines in his face were softened, his brow unfurrowed for what Lance could've sworn was the first time since he'd known him. It made Lance almost want to just leave him there, to just let him sleep- with only Hamletta as a witness, Lance stood, watching with eyes filled with warmth and fondness.

And then the moment was broken by the creeping sense of embarrassment that had finally caught up to him. Ok, time to wake up the team leader instead of just watching him. Clearing his throat, Lance gently shook Clay's shoulder.

"Hey, wake up. You fell asleep."

Hamletta cast Lance a glance filled with far too much knowing for a pig.

He rolled his eyes, huffing. "Come on, you're drooling on the book."

Clay stirred, yawning as he slowly lifted his head and blinked away sleep. He swiped the back of his gloved had over his eyes, squinting down at the book and then up to meet Lance's eyes. Confusion drew his eyebrows back together, and the gentle calm that had been so comfortable on his face before was gone.

"Lance? What are you doing here?" His voice was tinged with sleep, making it sound rough and tired. It absolutely did not make Lance's breath catch to hear his name said like that.

"You passed out." The blond replied.

"Oh." Clay glanced around, surveying the library and catching a glimpse of the night sky outside the window. "Oh, I guess I did. That's not good." He stretched, making a move to stand. "I should probably-"

"How long has it been since you slept?" Lance didn't know why he bothered asking. It'd been days at the very least.

Clay huffed. "I'm fine, it doesn't matter. One of us has to be alert at all times."

Lance's nose crinkled. "That's not healthy. Sleep is kind of important, Clay."

"And why do you care? I'm not even tired."

Fair question. Why did he care?

Lance shook his head. "I care because you're the leader- you need to take care of yourself. It worries- us how you refuse to sleep properly." He caught himself before he could slip up. "Us" was a safe, collective word. Clay did not need to know he, Lance Richmond, was worried about him as an individual.

"Were you worried?"

He'd been caught.

"Everyone was." He retorted, breaking the eye contact and taking strides across the library, Hamletta at his heels and Clay watching after him, only to pause before touching the door's pad. "And so what if I was? It's not unreasonable to worry when the safety of your whole life and image as a knight rests in the hands of someone who doesn't even bother to take care of himself. What would the kingdom think of us if our leader was falling asleep on the field?" He hit the open button with more force than necessary, and he stepped through the door, looking back over his shoulder. His expression had softened, letting uncharacteristic concern show through. "Get some rest, Clay. You deserve it."

The door closed, leaving Clay alone, and Lance worried he'd said too much.


	2. Chapter 2

When Lance awoke the next night to the sound of Clay's footsteps in the hall, he could help but feel almost indignant- after the lecture and all the encouragement he'd given the leader yesterday, he still refused to sleep properly!

Huffing, Lance tossed the sheets off himself and got to his feet, nearly stomping to his door to open it- he would've slammed it open had it not been automated.

"Clay Moorington, what are you doing awake?" The other knight jumped, spinning to face Lance, calming after a moment.

"Hello, Lance. I was just-"

"Patrolling? At," Lance checked the clock, "One AM?"

Clay had the gall to look almost sheepish, crossing his arms and looking towards the ground. "Well, I couldn't sleep anyways, might as well be doing something."

"Couldn't sleep?" Lance suppressed the worry in his voice as best he could, though he'd bet it wasn't so much he couldn't, but more that he wouldn't. Clay shifted, fidgeting with armor- he was wearing his armor? What, did he expect a fight?

"It's nothing. Just some bad dreams. Gives me an excuse to keep guard, so it's really not a big deal."

Part of Lance told him to agree, to roll his eyes and go back to sleep and let his leader walk until his legs fell off, while he was comfortable and resting.

The other part of Lance, the part he kept on silent, suggested something crazy, something absolutely not encourageable, something that would make both of them uncomfortable and possibly ruin any chance of-

"You could try sleeping in my room, maybe?" The words left his mouth before he could stop them.

"What?" Clay was staring at him, and he was staring back, face reddening slowly. He hadn't meant to suggest that.

"I meant, like, you could bring your mattress into my room?" Why was he still talking? "Sleeping in the same room as someone else sometimes helps- helped my sister when she was little, anyways. So maybe…" He turned his eyes to the ground, hands clasped behind his back, biting his tongue and cursing every deity he could think of.

Clay stood for a moment, blinking, thinking it over- actually thinking it over.

"That might work."

"What?" Lance looked up, suddenly, his heart giving a heavy thud in his chest. This had been an awful few minutes- He shouldn't have said anything- and yet Clay was saying-

"If the offer still stands, I think maybe that could be worth a try." Clay smiled, lightly. "At the very least, then you can nag me until I sleep instead of waking up to nag me out here." He was joking with him, right? Just kidding?

Lance swallowed hard, biting back nerves. Smooth. Suave. He's got this, all he had to do was pass off his offer as a joke, and then both be on their ways. "And I will. If you don't sleep, and you mess up in battle, then it's all of us on the line- even worse, it's me on the line."

Clay stifled a laugh, sounding tired but amused. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll move my stuff into your room tomorrow, if that's okay?"

"That works."

"Cool."

Both knights stood there a moment, awkwardly, before Clay coughed, turning back and heading off on his walk. "Well, thank you. Both for your concern and for your help."

"No problem."

As Clay walked off, Lance heaved a sigh. Oh what had he gotten himself into?


	3. Chapter 3

The day after Lance extended the offer to Clay was as to be expected- Jestro causing trouble, the knights sent to stop him. It'd started early that day, before the sun had even risen, when the alarms went off and Ava called everyone to arms. The village was typical, the tactic was typical, and Jestro was typical. Nothing new, nothing too exciting.

The team reentered the Fortrex, each uncomfortably sweaty in their heavy armor.

"That was _wicked!_" Aaron cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"Not really, it was honestly pretty easy this time. Think Jestro's up to something worse for later?" Macy replied, slipping her helmet off and tucking it under her arm.

"It's possible- we've got to keep alert." Clay added, strolling over to the console. "Ava, keep a scan going for any activity."

Ava rolled her eyes, spinning in her chair to face the leader. "What else am I good for, Clay."

Clay chuckled, shaking his head. "Thanks, Ava."

Each knight had set out for their rooms, ditching their armor for their casual wear. With the day's Jestro attack over early, they may as well relax, right?

Clay knocked on Lance's door, blankets rolled under his arm, his pillow under his other. "Lance? You there?"

Lance sat up in his chair, hopping to his feet as the door open and Clay entered. "Hey, what's up?"

"Just here to bring by my stuff for later- figured since I had time I'd do that now." He smiled lightly, shrugging. "So, where should I put it?"

Lance gestured to the ground, keeping casual to hide the thumping of his heart. This had been an awful idea- Clay was definitely going to figure him out if this kept up too long. "Anywhere is fine, just not too close to Hamletta's bed- she likes her space."

Clay laughed a little, rolling out the blankets and tossing the pillows down in a makeshift bed. "I'll try not to disturb her beauty sleep."

Bed rolled out, Clay and Lance both sort of just stood there a moment, Clay smiling and Lance biting back comments of how soft the expression made him look.

"So, how early should I _try_ to go to bed?" Clay asked, shifting weight onto one foot and resting his hand on his hip.

"Let's aim for eight."

Clay made a noncommittal sound, shrugging. "Fine, fine. Guess then I have time to lay there and stare at the ceiling- not as useful as walking around but it'll do."

"Clay, you're going to sleep."

Clay walked closer, crossing his arms. "I'm going to _try_ to. Can't expect me to be able to change my sleep schedule in one night."

"Well you'd better actually try. Don't just pretend to fall asleep until I'm out so you can go walk."

The two were standing pretty close now, Lance just tall enough to have to look down to meet Clay's eyes.

"Hey, Lance- Oh, hey Clay. What's up?"

_Aaron_. Lance yelped, stepping back quickly as the smile slipped from Clay's face in surprise, the softness turning to sheepishness. Lance rested against his bed, catching his breath and trying to stop the startled beating of his heart, turning to look the intruder.

"Aaron, what's up?"

"Not much, just wondering if you were up for Kobolds and Castles?" Aaron's green hoodie bunches around his shoulders as he shrugged, eyebrows raised and eyes moving between his teammates, a knowing smirk on his face. "If I interrupted something, don't worry, we can play later if you're busy."

Lance glanced between Aaron and Clay for a moment, before laughing nervously. "Sure, why not." He stood again, coughing, "I'll see you later, Clay."

"Yeah." The leader was adamantly refusing to make eye contact, only looking up for a moment to flash a smile at Lance. "See you later."

Lance and Aaron made their way through the Fortrex halls, in silence until they were a bit away from Lance's room. Soon as the coast was clear, Aaron elbowed Lance hard in the ribs.

"Hey-"

"_Dude! _What was _that?"_ Aaron was smiling wide, mischief gleaming in his green eyes.

Lance felt his face warm. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah you do, you _dork._ You totally like Clay, right?"

Lance made a sound that could only be compared to the squealing of rusted brakes.

Aaron's smile only got wider. "_Bro."_

"Do not say a _single_ word about this to anyone."

"Oh, no. I'm telling Macy and Axl."

"_No you are _not."

Aaron took off, sprinting towards the living room, laughing, with Lance on his heels.

"If you tell _them,_ they'll tell _him!_"

"Nah, they're trustworthy! Hey Axl! Macy! You'll never believe this!"

The two knights barreled into the room, Aaron darting to hide behind Axl, scaling the tall man's shoulders.

"What aren't we gonna believe, Aaron?" Axl asked, looking at Aaron out of the corner of his eye.

"Take a guess!"

"Lance broke his tablet again?" Macy suggested.

"The kitchen still smells like burnt spinach?"

"Nope, and nope. Macy, you were close on the Lance thing, but not that specific thing." Aaron was holding back laughter, Lance, on the other hand felt like his face was on fire.

"Aaron- do _not-"_

Aaron whispered the answer in Axl's ear.

"_WHAT?_" Axl exclaimed, turning to face Lance so quickly that Aaron was thrown from his shoulders.

"What? What is it?" Macy asked, suddenly much more interested.

Aaron dashed over to Macy before Lance could stop him, and whispered it to her, too, leaving Lance mortified as she burst into laughter.

"You're serious?" She asked, turning to look at Lance through laughter-bleary eyes. "Oh my god, I totally knew it."

"I didn't!" Axl said, patting Lance on the shoulder, "Since when?"

Lance couldn't even answer, his face buried in his hands. "I wish I were dead."

Macy placed her hand on Lance's other shoulder. "Hey, it's okay! We've got your back, so long as you don't be totally selfish in your relationship with him." She laughed a bit, punching his shoulder. "Good luck, Lance."

Lance still didn't answer, making a sound again.

Honestly, what had he gotten himself into?


	4. Chapter 4

Night fell on the kingdom, and the knights prepared for bed- each going off to their own rooms, except for Clay.

Clay stood in front of Lance's door, unsure if he should knock or just wait. He decided on knocking, and with a steady hand, reached up and tapped the door.

"Lance? It's me."

The door slid open, and just behind it, stood Lance.

"Clay! Come in." He said, glancing behind the leader to see if there were any prying eyes. With the rest of the team in on his business, anything like _this_\- like Clay visiting him in the night to sleep in his room- would get him teased for the rest of his life.

The leader stepped into the room, only to be surprised that his mild roll of blankets from earlier had grown. There were several more pillows than before, and at least two more blankets.

"I added some extra cushion to your stuff- can't expect you to sleep if you're not comfortable. Speaking of," Lance gestured to Clay's outfit. "Why are you still in your armor?"

"I sleep in it, in case Jestro-"

"Oh my god. No. Please tell me you have pajamas."

Clay remained silent, shuffling in place.

"You don't?" Lance asked in disbelief, crossing his arms.

"I don't." Clay confirmed, embarrassed.

Lance sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "Okay. Well. You can borrow some of mine- just until we get you some of your own. Don't get attached, and don't expect them to fit you perfectly. I'm, what, several inches taller than you?"

Clay offered a weak smile. "That's fair."

Lance had gone over to his closet, carefully digging through the drawers of one of his three dressers for something that might fit Clay alright. Clay stood awkwardly, watching.

After a moment more of Lance's searching, he found something that'd do, and tossed it over to the leader. "Go put that on. I'm not letting you sleep in armor."

Clay caught the clothes without any real effort, its high quality soft fabric of no surprise. "Thanks, Lance."

Clay slipped into the hall, heading back to his room to change, passing Aaron on his way. The archer bumped his shoulder, winking, leaving the leader a touch confused and a touch embarrassed.

Lance took a seat on his bed, laying back to stare at the ceiling, when his tablet buzzed.

\- 'bro, did you loan clay your pjs? lmao'

_Aaron, again._ Would he ever learn to mind his own business instead of picking on his teammate?

'He didn't have any! He needs to sleep and /not/ in his armor for once'-

-'wait hes actually gonna sleep?'

-'i dont believe you'

'I'm making sure he does.'-

-'yeah? how'

Lance refused to answer.

-'is'

-'is he sleeping in your room'

-'bro… good luck keeping your secret'

'Please shut up.'-

Clay reentered the room at that moment, and Lance quickly locked the tablet and set it face down on his bed, sitting up. The pajamas didn't _quite_ fit Clay, as he expected, the pants were just a touch too long and the shirt a touch too tight, but they'd do.

"So… now what?" Clay asked, shifting a bit under Lance's scanning eyes.

"Now? Relax. Lay down. Just, chill out and try to sleep."

Clay awkwardly flopped down on the pile of carefully laid blankets and pillows, glancing over at Lance as he clicked the lights off and laid back himself. The room was quiet, just the usual electronic buzz serving as white noise. Clay fidgeted, trying to get himself comfortable, trying to get himself tired enough to sleep. So far, no good. The silence was pressing, the worry of an attack still on his mind. He needed to talk at least, fill some of the quiet.

"Lance?"

"Hm?"

"I can't sleep."

"Clay, you've been trying for maybe ten minutes."

"All the same."

Lance seemed to catch something in Clay's voice that he leader himself didn't even catch. He sat up, turning a small string of lights on, casting the room in a soft yellow glow.

"What's wrong, then?"

Clay hummed, shrugging. "I don't think anything's wrong."

"Something's up, spill it. You won't sleep if you're obsessing over something." Tired annoyance was clear in Lance's voice, but there was something else to it. Concern, maybe.

Clay thought it over, eventually sorting his thoughts and finding the one that had him troubled- he didn't want to talk about it, but maybe he should.

"Clay?" Lance asked again, the concern more prominent- yes, that's what it was.

"I'm worried about tomorrow." Clay finally said, curling in on himself a little.

"Tomorrow? What about it?"

The leader crossed his arms over his knees. "What if we fail tomorrow? What if Jestro attacks, and we fail?"

"What if-? Clay." Lance had gotten down from his bed, kneeling down next to where Clay has curled up. "We've never _really_ failed, what makes you think tomorrow will be any different?"

"I don't know."

Lance reached a hand out, not quite touching Clay's shoulder- his hand hovered there for a moment, an inch away, before he let it rest. Clay looking up from the ground, meeting Lance's soft, worried expression. It may have been the first genuine thing he'd ever seen on his face.

"Clay, even if we fail, we'll fix it. We're knights, and that's a _lot _of pressure. You can't expect yourself to be perfect." Those words held a lot of meaning, almost as though they'd been something Lance said to himself before. Maybe he had, Clay wasn't sure. In that moment, Clay realized he'd never really spoken to his teammate on a deeper level than banter- Lance suddenly seemed a deeper well than he let on.

"But if we fail, what about the people?"

"What about them? Jestro and Monstrox haven't killed anyone, yet. They've only ever seemed interested in taking over the kingdom, and that's impossible to do with just one conquered village, right? We'd stop them before they did worse." Lance had both hands on either of Clay's shoulders, his thumb rubbing circles against the fabric, soothing.

Clay hummed, sagging forward to lean his head on the other's shoulder.

"Thanks, Lance."

There was a moment of pause, before Lance rested his hands on Clay's back in an almost-hug.

"No problem, Clay."


	5. Chapter 5

Clay woke up first, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings with tired confusion until his memory caught up- right, he was in Lance's room, wasn't he? The leader rolled over, picking up his phone to check the time. Six AM, basically sleeping in for him. He set his phone back down, sitting up slowly, trying to keep from making too much noise, and cast a glance over at his teammate.

Lance was in his bed, curled lightly in on himself, his blond hair framing his face, still asleep. Clay knew full well that the other could sleep until the afternoon if permitted, and, well… perhaps he'd let him today as a thank-you for the night before. So long as Jestro didn't decide to do anything until later.

Clay sighed. Jestro. He didn't even want to think about his old friend turned enemy now, the worry over another attack churning his stomach.

No, no time to think about that. Clay looked over at Lance again, turning over his words from the night before.

It was going to be okay. It was going to be okay. It was…

Clay hadn't even noticed when he'd drifted back off to sleep.

Lance woke up two hours after Clay had, surprised to find him… asleep. Clay Moorington, sleeping past eight. No one would ever believe him.

Each knight puttered into the kitchen in a slow drip, drawn from their rooms by the smell of food, courtesy of Axl.

Lance and Clay had entered to room together, and while no one said a word, the three exchanged looks.

"So! Sleep well?" Aaron asked, smiling.

"Yeah, actually. I slept pretty well." Clay replied, taking a bite of his small stack of pancakes.

"Really? You slept?" Macy asked, "Since when do you sleep?"

"Since last night." Lance said.

"Yeah?" Aaron's smile stretched a little wider, mischievous, elbowing Macy and winking.

"Yeah." Lance replied, voice strained, his tone begging Aaron to lose to look.

"Hey, Clay." Axl chimed in. "What's the plan for today?"

Clay paused- he hadn't thought of one. He always used his walks to think of one. He was planless- without a proper plan, they'd fail and it'd be his fault and-

Lance rested a hand on his shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts.

"You okay?" He whispered, ignoring the others for a moment- for Clay's sake.

"Just- Yeah, I guess." He shook his head. "No. Actually no, I'm not." He sighed turning back to the team. "I don't have a plan."

"No plan? No problemo." Aaron shrugged. "Let's play it by ear, then."

Macy and Axl nodded.

"Works for me."

"Me too."

Clay took a breath, then let it go. "Okay. Okay that works."

"We don't even know if anything'll happen today. Jestro's been kinda taking it easy lately." Macy said, picking at the remains of her breakfast. "I'm sure there's a reason, but hey, at least that means we might get a breather like we did a few days ago."

Lance bumped Clay. "She's right."

"Yeah." Clay nodded, "I guess she is."

"Rad. With that settled, anyone wanna play some Castles and Kobolds?"


	6. Chapter 6

With a successful session finished, a boss defeated, and no alerts from Ava of any further danger, each knight set off to do their own thing for a bit.

Apparently, Aaron's "own thing" was getting in Lance's business.

Lance had been on his way to his room, when the archer had grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him off into a side room, closing the door behind them.

"What-?"

"Lance, bro, catch me up. What's going on with you Clay _now?_ Like, I know you've got him sleeping in your room and all?" Aaron had one of his hands on his hips- he jabbed Lance in the chest with the other. "Spill the beans, any progress? You told him yet?"

Lance sputtered, "I'm sorry, what?"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "So that's a 'no,' got it. You've at least talked a bit, right? Like, actually talked?"

"I don't know if that's any of your business."

"I'm Clay's friend, I'm your friend- it's totally my business. Plus, I _know_ both of you. You're both emotional under all that stuff you put up, right? And people _talk_ about that stuff when they're tired- I mean I do at least." Aaron was perceptive, Lance had to give him that. After a moment's pause, Lance sighed.

"We talked about why he couldn't sleep. That's about it."

Aaron seemed to seem that acceptable, nodding. "Hey, at least that's something more than surface-level conversation." The archer suddenly snapped his fingers, "Hey- idea."

"What?"

"What if, now hear me out, what if I help you two out?" Lance made a confused sound. "Clay talks to me, I could totally try and get a read on him for you."

"This is an awful idea."

"An awfully good one!" Aaron bumped his shoulder, "No harm in trying at least, right? Plus, talking to him about it might help, he's not always great at figuring out his emotions."

"This is the worst case scenario, Aaron."

It was too late, Aaron was already shoving Lance back into the hall and heading off towards the training room- where, of course, Clay had immediately headed earlier.

Lance watched the other, worry that Aaron was about to mess up any chance at all heavy in his mind, yet feeling like maybe, _just maybe_, this could work.

-/-/-

Clay swung his sword, cutting through holographic monsters with ease, practicing some tactic for later, mumbling each step to himself to help himself remember it. He blocked a blow with his shield, pushing back, then kicking the attacker off their feet, poised and ready to strike the toppled foe when-

"Hey Clay!" The holograms dissipated. Clay gave a frustrated groan and turned to see who'd interrupted, completely throwing off his rhythm.

"Oh," The frustration disappeared too, and Clay offered Aaron a smile, "Hey Aaron, what's up?"

"Not much, not much. Figured I might come train with you, if that's cool?"

"Of course." Clay pressed a hand to his helmet's communicator. "Robin, can you get the simulation running again?"

'Sure can!'

The room hummed to life again, the town forming and the first wave of monsters beginning. Aaron hopped on his shield, taking to the air, carefully taking aim at the more distant opponents, leaving Clay to deal with those at close range.

"To your left!"

"Thanks!"

The two finished wave one, and Aaron signaled to Robin to pause it for a moment, catching his breath. Clay stretched his sword arm and his back, working out a knot.

"Hey, Clay, I've got to ask- you slept in today, what's up with that?" Aaron leaned again his shield.

"Oh," Clay shrugged, "I'm trying to get more sleep. Lance got on my case the other night, but he had a point. Hard to protect people if you're tired."

"But like, _how_ are _you_ getting more sleep? I don't think I've ever seen you sleep past five AM, not even back at the academy."

Clay shrugged again, shifting his weight between his feet. "Lance's offered to help."

"Yeah?" Aaron's tone hinted at… something, Clay couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Yeah. He's letting me sleep in his room, apparently company can help."

"Is it helping so far?"

"Just tried it for the first time last night, and, honestly? I think so."

"That's good." Aaron replied, leaning further on his shield- if he wasn't careful, he was going to fall over. "Sooo… what do you think of Lance?"

"Huh?" That was an odd question.

"What do you think of Lance?" Seriously, Aaron should be careful, he was going to fall.

"He's my friend and teammate? I don't know what you're asking me, Aaron."

"Just a friend?" The archer was _teasing_ him, wasn't he? Why? What was he even hinting at here?

"Aaron."

"Fine, fine. 'Just a friend.'" He stood back up, flipping his shield under his arm. Before Clay could ask more questions, Aaron signaled to Robin to start up the simulation again.

But the thought process had been started- Aaron knew Clay, and he knew for sure he'd be thinking about that question for a while, and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to figure out his own feelings for once.


	7. Chapter 7

Lance settled into bed as Clay entered the room, hitting the lights as he passed the switch. Both were quiet for a moment, thinking about this and that and each other. It was, quite honestly, a touch awkward.

The quiet hovered in the air between them, before Lance rolled over to look down towards where Clay was, finding him staring at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"Hey, you okay?"

Clay startled, praying Lance missed the flush in his face. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure?" There was that concern again, something Clay couldn't seem to brush off. Lance had been kinder to him over the past couple days, his pompous air wavering like a mist that couldn't quite cover up what was beyond.

"I'm okay, I promise." Clay's voice was softer, too. Both knights lay in their beds, eyes studying one another's faces, hoping the other wouldn't notice their staring. The tension in the room was palpable, you could cut it with a sword- unspoken words and questions.

"Lance." Clay finally spoke up.

"Hm?"

"Why are you helping me?"

"Because we're a team, Clay. It's our job to help each other and stuff."

"Then why do you act so-" He gestured to the ceiling vaguely, "high-and-mighty all the time? Why do you act like you don't care about anyone but yourself?"

Lance chewed his lip, breaking eye contact, suddenly nervous to have his issues brought to light, his perfect facade under scrutiny.

"Clay."

"Lance."

He sighed, rolling over to face the wall. "Clay, I don't know if you remember meeting my parents a while back- but if you do, you'll remember what they were like."

Clay hummed. He remembered the gold, the holier-than-thou attitudes, and the odd coldness towards their son- though, he'd thought nothing of it at the time, assuming it was just how their family worked, not quite sure if that was common or not, having nothing to reference.

"Clay, my parents care about one thing more than anything else: their gold. Their gold and their status. I'm neither of those things." Lance's voice cracked, and he curled against the wall. He wasn't going to cry over old news- he shouldn't be crying over a wound from childhood-

Clay had stood up at some point, moving to sit on the edge of Lance's bed. The scenario mirroring the last night- goodness, if each night they'd be staying together was going to be like this, neither of them would be sleeping, not with so much emotion. Lance didn't respond to the dipping in his mattress, seemingly elsewhere, the emotions having gotten started not stopping yet.

"I'm the family disappointment. They didn't care about me then, they don't care about me now. I only had myself and my money to rely on- and now I have you guys, and I'm going to be honest, I don't know what to do. You four are the closest thing I've had to _real_ family- and I just- I can't stop myself from feeling I let you guys down." He couldn't hold back the tears, overwhelmed and rambling and trying so hard to get it back together. Clay shifted closer, slowly, reaching his hand out to rest it on the leader's shoulder.

"Lance. You don't have to be perfect- that's what you told me last night, right? That applies to you, too." Lance didn't respond. "I know how it feels, to worry about being a disappointment. And maybe I don't know it like you do, but I get it. And hey," He peered over the other, trying to get a look at his face. "You've never disappointed us. You've never disappointed _me._"

Lance's quiet tears turned to sobs with that, for a moment Clay worried he'd only made it worse, until Lance sat up and pulled him into a hug.

It was a silent 'Thank you,' and a plea for something to latch onto, to use to ground himself. Clay tightened the hug, unsure of what else to say.

The moment dragged on, until, at last, Lance went quiet. Clay pulled back a bit, only to find his teammate had fallen asleep.

The leader laid Lance back down, trailing a hand through his hair, watching him with worried eyes.

Lance really was something underneath all his pride, wasn't he?

Emotions spent, Clay found himself drifting off, still resting against Lance's bed, his hand on the other's face.

When Macy came to wake them in the morning, that's how she found them- and she couldn't bare to disturb the peace.


	8. Chapter 8

Clay took quiet steps through the halls of the fortrex, the sirens silent, warranting another quiet day of nothing. While usually the lack of news on Jestro would worry him, Clay was a bit distracted with something else- what Aaron had said to him the day before.

It was odd, but since the archer had made those comments about the nature of his feelings towards Lance, he'd been thinking about it. A lot. And it was confusing- because he did care about Lance, as a friend and as a teammate, yet he felt… something else, too. He'd never been great at pinpointing stuff like that.

Clay approached Aaron's door, the heavy music and cheers letting him know his teammate was definitely home. He knocked, and he waited. After a short moment, the door slid open, and Aaron waved him in, smiling wide.

"Hey, Clay!" He shouted over the bass.

"Hey, Aaron- got a minute to talk?" The leader shouted back, hands pressed over his ears. Aaron turned the music down, kicking back on his beanbag chair.

"Sure man! What's up?" Oh, Aaron knew. The smugness in his expression gave that away. Clay shuffled uncomfortably, crossing and uncrossing his arms.

"Well, uh. It's- It's about-"

"It's about Lance, right?" Aaron finished his sentence, smile growing wider, green eyes sparkling with mischief. Clay could only nod, uncertain as to why the topic suddenly seemed so nerve-wracking.

Aaron slid his headphone off his head, patting the other beanbag. "Take a seat, Blue. Spill it- what's got _you_ so jittery?"

Clay sat, crossed legged and slouching under the other's knowing gaze. "So. Um. Lance."

"Yeah?"

"Lance is-" Clay couldn't seem to find the words. "Interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Shut up. Interesting. He's just- he's not as shallow as he acts. He's kind." Some warm feeling stirred in his chest, and he tried to keep it from reaching his face. "He's kind and he's caring, he just doesn't know how to show it."

Aaron nodded, folding his arms behind his head. "So, what do you feel about him?"

"What?"

"You sure you still want him to be just a friend?"

Clay knew the question was coming, but it still seemed to take him off guard, kicking the air out of his lungs. "I- well-"

"Dude, you like him, right?"

Clay hid his face in his hands. "I don't know- I guess? I'm not good with stuff like this."

Aaron bumped his shoulder. "You might not be, but I am. Here's an idea- I can be your wingman."

"That's the worst idea."

"It really isn't."

Clay was beginning to regret coming to Aaron with this one.

Lance sighed, watching the upload bar load another selfie onto his profile, resting his face in his hand.

"Lance!" Lance yelped and nearly threw his tablet and it slid across the counter.

"Macy!" He took a deep breath, "Don't do that."

"Sorry. Anyways," Macy shrugged, "Axl and I were wondering if you've seen Aaron? He was supposed to come practice with us."

"I haven't, sorry." Lance reached out and picked up his tablet. "Haven't seen Clay either."

"Huh, okay." Macy quickly glanced towards the door, then back to Lance, leaning against the counter and dropping her voice to a whisper. "Hey, I've _got_ to ask- what's up with you and Clay? Like, I know you like him, but you two have been hanging around each other a lot more recently."

Lance sighed, couldn't anyone keep out of his business? "Clay's been sleeping in my room."

"Knew it."

"He need to sleep, it's nothing more than that!"

"Okay, sure. You two totally haven't been staying up to swap feelings like it's a sleepover or anything."

"Not a word."

"_Knew it._"

Clay and Aaron chose that moment to walk into the lounge, and the other two knights quickly stopped whispering to look over at them.

"Oh hey! Sorry I'm late, Mace!"

"No problem, Aaron! Lance and I got to catch up a bit, since he's been so busy talking to-"

Lance elbowed her, shooting her a look. She snickered and rolled her eyes.

"Go train."

"Alright, alright." Macy smiled at him, leaning in to whisper one last thing- a quick "Go get him," before she headed towards the door, followed by Aaron.

"Good luck, Clay!" The archer called from the hall, before the door slid shut, leaving both knights embarrassed and refusing to look at one another.

"So, what were you and Macy talking about?" Clay asked, staring down at his feet.

"Nothing, really. You and Aaron?"

"Not much."

The awkwardness dragged on, then-

the alarm sounded, gratefully breaking the tension. Ava's voice came in over the speakers.

"It's Jestro. He's going after something in the town of Scripton, not sure what, but Merlock's trying to figure it out."

Lance and Clay needed only swap a look before each went off to prepare for a fight.


End file.
